Gamification in statistics education: A literature review

Today, the rapid growth of publicly available data reinforces the need for public understanding of statistics and data interpretation. These skills are important for data-based decision making at individual-level or even at societal-level. However, statistics have been accused as a complex educational topic. In the meantime, although gamification notes positive outcomes in education, regarding students’ engagement, statistical literacy is sparsely mentioned as an examining context in the respective literature. This study makes the picture more coherent, conducting a review about the adoption of gamification in statistical literacy (N=257 studies). In general, the results are in favor of the use of gamification in statistics education. The few mentioned negative outcomes warn for further attention on its design and integration. Besides having a variety of statistical topics mentioned, lifelong learning is slightly investigated. Only half of the reviewed body of the literature presents empirical data, and narrative and board games are mainly used. Further research is proposed about the design of gamification, touching more topics of statistics and examining various motivational affordances, especially in lifelong learning.